NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana company accuses Tulane University of its funding application due to its owner’s race.
Plaintiff Revier Technologies Inc. filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The named defendants are Tulane University, Tulane Ventures GP LLC, Tulane Innovation Fund, the Louisiana Economic Development Corp., and Susan Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development.
According to its website, the LED is the state agency responsible for “cultivating jobs and expanding economic opportunity for the people of Louisiana.”
Revier, located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, is owned by Matthew Schultheis, who is white.
“By denying Revier Technologies’s application to the Fund because its owner, Mr. Schultheis, is the wrong race, the Tulane Defendants engaged in unlawful racial discrimination in violation of Title VI and Section 1981, and the LEDC violated Title VI and the Fourteenth Amendment,” the 17-page complaint states.
Revier contends the defendants discriminate against individuals “who are not in one of their preferred racial categories,” and deny such individuals opportunities based on their skin color.
“And they are using federal money to accomplish this discrimination,” the filing states.
The company, which is developing an artificial intelligence program for the construction industry, allegedly applied for a much-needed small business investment from Tulane Ventures at Tulane University.
According to Revier’s complaint, through the Tulane Venture Seed Fund, Tulane Ventures administers millions in federal funds it receives from the State of Louisiana through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, or SSBCI.
The Louisiana Department of Economic Development works through the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation to administer the SSBCI funds.
In accordance with Tulane’s contract with the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation, for non-Tulane affiliated individuals, eligibility for the fund is restricted to businesses owned by individuals who are considered “socially and economically disadvantaged,” which in practice requires that the business be 51 percent owned and controlled by a female or 51 percent owned or controlled by a “minority individual.”
Revier alleges Tulane defines a minority as American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, Hispanic or Latino/a, or one or more of these races.
“This restriction based on race is not hypothetical,” the company’s filing states. “The Tulane Defendants specifically rejected Revier Technologies’s application because its owner, Mr. Schultheis, is white.
“The Tulane Defendants even put it in writing – directly informing Mr. Schultheis that his company did not qualify for the Fund because he is not a ‘diverse founder.’”
The company argues that Tulane, a private university, receives more than $320 million per year in federal funds and is subject to the non-discrimination mandate of the federal Civil Rights Act.
Tulane Ventures GP, Tulane Innovation Fund, and the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation also are subject to the federal law, it contends.
“Revier Technologies has been and will continue to be injured because the Tulane Defendants and LEDC have and will continue to deny Schultheis the opportunity to compete for investment money on equal footing with other applicants on the basis of race or ethnicity due to intentionally discriminatory policies and procedures,” the complaint states.
Revier seeks a permanent injunction barring the defendants from continuing to operate the Tulane Venture Fund with racial eligibility criteria and Bourgeois from continuing to operate the LED’s administration of SSBCI funds with racial eligibility criteria.
The company also seeks money damages, court costs and attorney fees.
Graves Garrett Greim LLC in Kansas City, Missouri, and Koch & Schmidt LLC in New Orleans are representing Revier.
